Carapecchia~S Intervention at the Inquisitor~S Palace - 1733-34
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Carapecchia~s intervention at the Inquisitor~s Palace - 1733-34 Kenneth Gambin The Inquisitor's Palace, siteJ in the heart of the h1stoncal Inquisitor Giovanni Francesco Stoppani arnved 111 Malta city ofVittoriosa, is one of the very few surviving palaces in March 1731. Apparently he had been briefed by his of its kind which in the early modern period could be predecessor, Fabrizio Serbelloni, about the works which found all over Europe and South America. Many simply were planned for the Inquisitor's Palace. Serhelloni, in succumbed to the ravages of time or else were victims fact, had already planned- and obtained permission from of the reactionary power unleashed by the French his superiors of the Holy Congregation in Rome - to Revolution. Fortunately, the Maltese Inquisitor's Palace, carry out restructuring works at the Inquisitor's Palace: throughout its five centuries of history, always hosted the replacement of the beamed ceilings of the three halls high-ranking officials representing the main powers on of the Piano Nobile. 2 The commencement of works, the island, who ensured its survival. The Palace also however, had to be postponed, since the wood which managed to survive through the ordeal of the Second had been ordered directly from Venice for the beams (it World War and the threat of modern development, and was cheaper than if it had been ordered locally) had not although much has been changed in its structure by its yet arrived. Stoppani, on his part, did not simply wait. successive occupants, it is today an architectural gem, Barely a month after his arrival, he had reconfirmed the representative of the chequered history of the Maltese need for the structural repairs by commissioning two islands. carpenters, Antonio Fiteni and Gioseppe Azzopardo, to give him a condition report of the state of conservation Yet, until now, our knowledge of the Palace arid its of the said ceilings. They asserted that the travi non history remained very incomplete, and all one can find sono piu in stato da pater soffrir il peso cha hanno anzi is small pieces of information scattered here and there chiaramente si vede che minacciano rovina. According in various sources. The history of the Palace received a to their estimate, the cost of their replacement would boost last year with the publication of three previously have amounted to 1,250 scudi Maltesi. 3 unknown plans of the building discovered in Rome.1 Yet much still remains to be done in foreign as well as (as in this case) in local archives, in order to fully appreciate the history and vicissitudes of the Inquisitor's Palace, especially when placed in a wider Maltese and European context. The background The Palazzo del Sant Officio was not built purposely as a residence for the inquisitors of Malta. The Palace was built in the 1530s by the Order of St John as their civil courts and it served that purpose until 1571, when the Order transferred its headquarters to Valletta. It remained MCCCXXXIII: 1733 - the year in which the entire project vacant for three years, until1574, when it was given to was planned and executed was recorded on the lintel of the Mgr Pietro Dusina, the first General Inquisitor and door facing the Bibliotheca Apostolic Delegate of Malta, to be used as his residence. In the first decades of the Holy Office in Malta the Palace was considered unsuitable and inhospitable by the high This report was sent to Rome for approval by the Holy ranking dignitaries who had to reside in it, and they tried Congregation,4 which on its part instructed Stoppani to to transform it into a more suitable place. Letters by proceed secondo il suo arbitrio e prudenza.5 Basing local inquisitors to the Holy Congregation in Rome are, himself on this report, therefore, Stoppani 's initial plans in fact, replete with references to the need for repairs were to refurbish the halls of the Piano Nobile. The wood and embellishments in various parts of the Palace. Major which had been ordered from Venice arrived in Malta restructuring works were carried out by Inquisitor Fabio only in 1733. Work on the ceilings commenced Chigi in the 1630s, Inquisitor Gerolamo Casanate in the immediately. However, while the works were in 1660s, and Tommaso Ruffo in the 1690s. The next major progress, unexpected abundant rains caused one of the development took place in the 1730s. walls of the main hall to absorb much more water than usual. As a result it collapsed onto the main staircase. 34 Malta Archaeological Review • Issue 4 2000 after having certified that this was in an imminent state of collapse, he thereupon immediately decided to embark on a more extensive and ambitious project for the Inquisitor's Palace as a whole. Instead of simply refurbishing the halls of the Piano Nobile, he resolved to reconstruct a new majestic entrance to the Palace together with the main staircase con simetria e decoro corrispondente al corpo dell' edifizio, ensuring that it became the centre-piece of the whole Palace, ritoccando le adiacenti stanze ed officine che la cingono come nel centra del Palazzo. Once he was at it, Stoppani also built the Bibliotheca, the secondary flight of stairs which leads to the second floor, reconstructed a section of the prison complex, enlarged the Family's quarters, gave a facelift to the garden (reference to battumatori peril giardino), constructed a passageway which links the Ruffo Apartments to the auditor's offices, and constructed a new drainage system for the Palace, whose foundations were accumulating unnecessary amounts of water to the detriment of the whole building. Possibly, he also reconstructed part, if not all, of the chapel, which is in the main hall of the Piano Nobile. The coat of arms of the Roman Inquisition designed by Carapecchia for the ceiling of the main staircase. The 37 ( ?canne) of tela used for the coat of arms were sewn by Maestro Lorenzo Borg. It was fixed to the ceiling with 10 migliari di chiodetti, and pittore Gio. Antonio [ ] took care of the stucco and the painting (fols 368-72) Even the prison cells were at risk of not being utilised. According to Stoppani, the principal cause of such a collapse was the soil which the Maltese used to build with instead of lime. The damage was so extensive that S toppani had to seek temporary alternative accommodation for himself and his staff for up to six months in a nearby residence, for which he had to pay rent. This was an added burden for the Inquisition The remains of the colossal sculpture with three papal coat of Tribunal, since, the financial situation of the Holy Office arms and a replica of the original inscription put in place by was far from being a happy one.6 Vincenzo Bonello in 1930 (see Carapecchia's plan) That this was a massive project is clear from the register which the meticulous procuratore of the Holy Office, B. Ciantar, used to list down to the slightest detail regarding all the different types of works which were being carried out, including the workers, their different tasks, their 'salary scale', the materials they used and for what, and all the various expenses.7 The work went on uninterruptedly for one whole year, from July 1733 to July 1734, involving in all 150 workers working 5 to 6 days a week, ranging from 17 falegnami (carpenters), 15 battumatori (earth-beaters), 2 pittori (painters), 5 muratori (stone masons), 7 stuccatori (plasterers), one A detail of Carapecchia 's architectural design ferraro (blacksmith), one guardiano (watchman), 4 scultori (sculptors), one vitraro (glazier), one cugitore (tailor), 88 manoali/lavoratori/ragazzi (labourers), and This dramatic situation needed some quick thinking and 6 schiavi (slaves), including 17 Maestri (skilled decision taking. Stoppani was quick to react. His first craftsmen). The original nucleus of workers was kept decision was to reconstruct the staircase as it was before, throughout, but constant recruitment and changes kept making use of the arch which used to support it. But going on as the works progressed, also dictated by Malta Archaeological Review • Issue 4 2000 35 Three views of the main staircase of the Inquisitor's Palace during restoration by Vincenzo Bonello in 1930 necessity, (eg. the battumatori were not needed from his numerous letters to the Holy Congregation while the the start, but only after the new beamed roofs were put works were still going on. Probably, what convinced in place). By May 1734 the bulk of the project must Stoppani to keep a very low profile on this project was have been over since there was a drastic decrease in the the sum total of the entire plan, which amounted to 5,243 number of workers and in their load. scudi. 9 The large scale of the project could also be gathered Another underlying reason why Stoppani would have from a quantitative analysis of the materials used: a total embarked on such an ex ten si ve project was that of status. of 153 salme of calce (lime), and 6,223 cariche (?cart In a society which put a lot of emphasis on fa<;ade effect, loads) of stones (excluding a considerable number of protocol and the order of precedence, the Palace was balate, dadi, capitelli, mensole, chiavi, cantoni, and considered to be the outward sign of the splendour of a scaline - the majority from a quarry in Santa Venera), family or institution. It was used to impress and and turba (earth material) and arena (sand) from St command deference, even if it masked onerous debts. 10 Julian's, and terracotta and puzzolana from Rabat.